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April 04, 2025
 

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TOURISM

Tour guide and history buff Rory Dent left his job at a U.K.-based tour operator to move to Japan and start his own business.
LIFE / Travel / Longform
Jun 30, 2024
Guiding Japan through the challenges of overtourism
With the number of overseas tourists breaking records, guides and tour operators are seeing their businesses flourish.
Foreign tourists visit Tsukiji Outer Market in Tokyo on June 14.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jun 29, 2024
Why it feels like everyone in the world is heading to Japan right now
The yen’s historic collapse coupled with the post-pandemic surge in global tourism has sparked interest in the nation like never before.
To be the best of the best, according to the exclusive Relais & Chateaux group, Japan's 'ryokan' inns need to leave guests with "a transcendental feeling."
LIFE / Travel
Jun 29, 2024
To Relais & Chateaux, not all ‘ryokan’ inns are created equal
In Japan, this exclusive association has partnered with just 13 hotels and traditional 'ryokan' inns and seven stand-alone restaurants spread across the country.
In the future, more tour operators and sites of interest may start marketing themselves based on travelers' preferences to set their own schedules.
LIFE / Travel
Jun 29, 2024
When Japan travels, it doesn’t mind going it alone
Regardless of the destination, more tour operators and regions are leaning on “travel as a form of self-care.”
Travelers in front of a Suntory duty-free shop at Kansai International Airport in December
BUSINESS
Jun 25, 2024
Duty-free sales at Japan's department stores tripled in May
Record sales were achieved with the help of a significant influx of Chinese tourists and the yen’s weakness.
Goods related to Eiichi Shibusawa are sold at the Michi no Eki Okabe roadside rest station in Fukaya, Saitama Prefecture.
JAPAN
Jun 25, 2024
Sites linked to faces on new banknotes excited before release
The new ¥10,000, ¥5,000 and ¥1,000 notes will enter into circulation July 3 in what will be the country's first banknote redesigning in 20 years.
Tokashiki Beach acts as a sanctuary for sea turtles and offers ideal snorkeling waters. It was also the site of the U.S. Army’s preliminary invasion that led to the 1945 Battle of Okinawa, which resulted in the deaths of nearly 150,000 people.
LIFE / Travel / Longform
Jun 23, 2024
On Okinawa's Tokashiki Island, life's a beach — one of the best in the world
Many of the island’s residents first came as tourists, attracted to the exquisite Aharen Beach, and simply stayed.
A group of Chinese tourists walks through the Ginza district in Tokyo.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Jun 22, 2024
Japan and Thailand top list of travel destinations for Chinese tourists
The return of Chinese tourists is being closely watched, as their numbers and spending are crucial for the tourism industry’s recovery.
Japan is considering a system to let foreign visitors who are exempted from obtaining short-stay visa declare online their information such as purpose of stay before entering the country.
JAPAN
Jun 21, 2024
Japan to launch online travel authorization system for visitors
The system's introduction aims to prevent illegal stays.
Tourists walk through Nakamise shopping street near Sensoji temple in Tokyo. This year is expected to bring 33 million travelers to Japan, an unprecedented surge and a 30% increase from last year.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 21, 2024
How an arrival tax could stem the overtourism tide
How can Japan ensure that tourism benefits locals and travelers alike? There's no silver bullet but an arrival tax of around $40 could be a good starting point.
People wait to cross a street in Kyoto in April. The number of foreign visitors to Japan came to 3.04 million in May, marking the third straight month at more than 3 million.
JAPAN
Jun 19, 2024
Flood of tourists prompts call to charge foreign visitors more
Foreign tourist arrivals numbered 3.04 million in May, up 9.6% from 2019 and marking the third straight month at over 3 million.
Foreign visitors learn how to make sushi in a cooking class at Sushi Making Tokyo in the Asakusa district of Tokyo.
JAPAN
Jun 18, 2024
Japan government paper seeks to promote rural areas to foreign visitors
Foreign tourists primarily spend their time and money in Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya, according to the paper.
Passengers look at the tarmac as they wait for flights at Beijing Capital International Airport on April 20.
BUSINESS
Jun 17, 2024
Chinese outbound travel recovery lags due to costs and visa snags
Chinese people took 87 million trips abroad last year, down 40% from pre-COVID 2019.
Haneda Airport in Tokyo is packed with travelers at the start of the Golden Week holidays in April.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 14, 2024
H.I.S. posts first half-year net profit in five years
For the six months through April, H.I.S. reported a consolidated net profit of ¥3.8 billion ($24.2 million), against a net loss of ¥4.8 billion a year before.
Tourists take pictures from a boat on the Chao Phraya river in Bangkok.
BUSINESS
Jun 13, 2024
Thailand is already seeing signs of a 'White Lotus' travel bump
The series recently wrapped filming at several resorts and locations in the nation.
A tourist from the U.S. (second right) sings karaoke as "mama" Kuri Awaji (left) waves a glow stick at her bar Kuriyakko in Tokyo.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jun 13, 2024
Tourists get taste of old Japan at hidden 'snack bars'
Snack bars are cozy, retro establishments often crammed into small buildings and equipped with karaoke systems that echo late into the night.
Some overseas airlines scrapped plans to add or increase services to Japanese airports due to the uncertain jet fuel supply, trade minister Ken Saito acknowledged on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 11, 2024
Jet fuel crunch sees airlines servicing Japan demand more supply
Eneos Holdings has been fielding calls from carriers and is working with the government to ease the problem, a spokesperson said via phone.
Travelers in a departure hall at Haneda Airport in Tokyo on April 26. For environmentalists, the resurgence of tourism will be met with dismay as it drives an accompanying surge in carbon emissions, but for the oil industry, the revival is a welcome boost.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jun 10, 2024
The world’s flying again and jumbo jets are burning fuel like it’s 2019
But despite this year's record number of flyers, increased efficiency will likely hold back fuel consumption to prepandemic levels.
Tourists visit Kiyomizu-dera Temple in Kyoto, where popular sites feel increasingly unmanageable.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 8, 2024
Japan likes tourists, just not this many
The country has politely handled travelers for years, but as visitors spill into previously untouristed spots, some residents are frustrated.
A popular photo spot with a view of Mount Fuji in the town of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, on May 21.
JAPAN
Jun 6, 2024
Don’t look now but the Mount Fuji barrier is getting even higher
The move follows the installation of a black screen in a nearby town to block a view of Mount Fuji rising from behind a convenience store.
As ‘Buy Canadian’ grows, more U.S. firms say retailers turning away products
Empty shelves with "Buy Canadian Instead" signs are seen in the American Whiskey section of the BC Liquor in Vancouver, British Columbia, on March 10.
U.S. tourist arrested after bringing a handgun into Japan
Hyogo police believe the handgun a U.S. tourist inadvertently brought into Japan slipped through security procedures at Kansai International Airport in Osaka Prefecture.
Trump unveils 10% global tariff, with Japan levy set at 24%
Trump tosses a MAGA hat to the crowd during an event in which he unveiled new tariffs in the White House on Wednesday.
Meiji says sayonara to bottled milk, a staple of Japan's bathhouses
Meiji bottled milk lined up in a fridge at Kosugiyu, a bathhouse in Tokyo. The sticker urges patrons to enjoy the milk one last time before it’s gone.
Japan’s leader didn’t read the job description
Prime Minister and ruling Liberal Democratic Party leader Shigeru Ishiba is facing a political funding scandal that has damaged his reputation and sparked speculation that internal efforts to remove him are underway.
Nintendo to launch the Switch 2 on June 5
The controllers for the Switch 2 will attach to the console magnetically rather than sliding on rails as with the original device.
A new human trafficking trend emerges from Myanmar scam centers
Victims of scam centers who were tricked or trafficked into working in Myanmar gather at a compound inside KK Park, a fraud center on the country's border with Thailand, after a multinational crackdown in February.
Meiji says sayonara to bottled milk, a staple of Japan's bathhouses
Meiji bottled milk lined up in a fridge at Kosugiyu, a bathhouse in Tokyo. The sticker urges patrons to enjoy the milk one last time before it’s gone.
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.
On defense, Japan may avoid Trump's worst impulses — for now
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth chat after reviewing an honor guard during a welcome ceremony at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on Sunday.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan
By Johan Brooks

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

BOARDING & INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL DAY 2025 (Sunday, April 20)
BOARDING & INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL DAY 2025 (Sunday, April 20)

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